Alex Weasley and the Vow
by Cocaine Cowboy
Summary: It's easy, once you've found one, to keep finding secrets. When Alex Weasley starts to unwravel secrets of the past, she and her friends find themselves tangled in a web of deciet. They must find the truth, and stop Furnier before he kills someone.
1. Prelude

Author's note:

Welcome, welcome.

Let me just say one thing before we begin. This is not likely going to be a short story. Not a one-shot, and I may even use complicated and long words.

Please forgive any spelling, or grammatical errors. I will spell check, as it seems to be my best friend these days. However, there are mistakes, things missed. If there are huge errors, please, let me know! I would appreciate that very much, as I am trying to make this a well-written story. Also, feel free to correct me on names, places, or past details that I've messed up.

I would love any feedback you are willing to give; reviews are loved! Please feel free to criticize as you feel is needed, as well, I am always grateful for healthy criticism. However, unnecessary flaming of me or my story is not appreciated, so please be kind.

Oh, and please note, just in case I end up confusing anyone, the prelude is from when Alex is eleven. The rest of the story takes place in her sixth year at Hogwarts.

Disclaimer: I do **not** own, or claim to own, any of JK Rowling's characters, nor her plot lines, catchphrases, or ideas. I own only my computer, my imagination, and my made up characters (Alex, Mitchell, Elizabeth, Justin, etc.). I do not own any of JK Rowling's spell names, or descriptions, either; however I have made up some, for lack of knowledge or time to look things up.

Prelude

'We have landed in London. Please remain in your seats until the seatbelt sign has been switched off. Please make sure you collect all of your belongings from under the seats, and the overhead compartments.' The stewardess' sweet voice floated through the cabin of the plane. 'The local time is 3:45 PM, and the temperature is 14o C. Welcome to London, ladies and gentlemen. Enjoy your stay, and we thank you for flying with us.'

A woman gripped her armrest tightly, and peered out the tiny window, brow furrowed. 'You know,' she said to the girl beside her. 'We could still go back.'

'Uh uh. You are not running away from this. We told them we would be here. It can't be that bad, mum.'

'Oh yes it could.' The woman turned back to the girl, and smiled weakly. 'Did I ever tell you _why_ I ran away in the first place?'

The girl just nodded, and patted her mother on the thigh. The woman looked younger than her 35 years, but she had a look in her eyes that said she had experienced a difficult life. Her red hair fell straight, and at the moment she had it tied in a loose bun behind her head. Her hazel eyes were outlined in minimal makeup, and her cheeks had a natural rosy glow. She was a thin woman, with slight curves; and she knew how to dress to accentuate her figure.

The girl beside her had her mom's hazel eyes, and smile, but she had her father's sandy golden hair and freckles. She wore a pair of blue jeans and a t-shirt, her typical dress. She was a tomboy to the core, and usually didn't care if her hair was combed or if she had dirt on her nose. She was so much like her father, she was.

Ginny Weasley swore under her breath and grabbed her purse, clasping it in her lap. What the hell was she doing here?

Ginny was a native of England, but hardly had an accent. She knew the country, knew most of London like the back of her hand. But she hadn't set foot in the city for nearly eleven years. She had, like she had said, run away. Away from her past, her family, her friends, and most of all a man who would haunt her for the rest of her life.

The man, Jason Parte, haunted her every day. In the form of a little girl. Alexandria, who preferred to be called Alex, was Ginny's daughter. Ginny loved her with all her heart, but she was a constant reminder of the mistake Ginny had made. And because of that mistake, falling in love with a man who had no good intentions, Ginny ran. She ran from her mother, who would be angry, from her brothers who would say, "Told you so". She ran from the fact that she wasn't perfect.

She ran the only place she could think of; her best friend's house. In Canada.

She raised her daughter in a small Canadian town, never telling the girl of her real heritage. Alex knew that she had grandparents and other family in England, but she didn't know of Ginny's real past; the real world she had grown up in.

Until that letter had arrived. Ginny had been dreading and praying for eleven years that the day wouldn't come. But come it had. The parchment envelope with a scarlet seal had arrived on their doorstep one day, and Alex, being quite pleased to have mail addressed to her, had opened it fervently.

She had come into the living room, quite confused. 'Mama, I think someone has me confused with another Alex Weasley. This is from a school, called Hogwarts.' She read on, frowning. 'Must be a prank letter. Have a look.' She passed the letter to her mother, who grimaced at the familiar seal.

That was when the questions started. Alex had been angry with her mother for hiding such a big secret from her, and Ginny had felt immensely bad. And so Alex got the entire explanation.

'You are a witch.' Ginny had sat Alex down on the sofa, and grabbed herself a beer, and Alex a soda. 'I am a witch. I grew up a witch, my entire family are wizards.' Rubbing her eyes, she fought to find a good way to explain.

'In the world that I grew up in, everyone is a witch or wizard. Spells are cast, and people fly on broomsticks. The outside world, of muggles as we call them, don't know anything about us. We have our own government, our own money currency, our own schools. One of these schools my family has been attending for centuries. My grandparents attended, my parents attended, all of my siblings attended, and I am sure their children are and will attend. You are no exception, it seems.'

Alex just stared with an open mouth at her mother. 'Well, how come you don't do any magic now? Can auntie Mandi do magic? Could I do magic _now_? Can I learn to turn people into toads?' After the initial shock, Alex seemed quite excited at the prospect of magic, as Ginny suspected any young person would be.

'I don't do any magic because I left that world. After I found out I was pregnant with you, I left… And haven't looked back. I left all that behind. And no, Auntie Mandi doesn't do magic. She doesn't even know that I can. So don't blab.' Auntie Mandi, as Alex referred to so affectionately, was Ginny's best friend, whom she had moved in with when she left London.

'Toads?' Alex asked, quite excited now.

'Unfortunately, turning people into toads is frowned upon.'

The young girl of eleven frowned, and looked thoughtful for a moment. 'Well, am I going to go?'

Ginny pursed her lips, and took a long swallow of her beer. 'I don't know. It would mean leaving Canada behind. You would have to go to London, and you wouldn't see me during the school year; only at Christmas, and summer vacations. And you have a lot to learn, before you even start. The basics of the world.' Ginny sighed. 'Do you want to go?'

'I would, mum. I think it would be terrible fun.'

The redheaded woman set down her drink and rubbed at her forehead.

'And,' Alex continued. 'You could make up with your mum. And we can all be one happy family again!'

'It's not that simple.'

'Why not?'

'It's just… not. Why don't you go entertain yourself for a while, dear? I need to think.'

'You'll consider it?'

'I'll think about it.'

Alex bounded out of the room, grinning.

'Oh Jesus,' Ginny moaned, flopping down on the table.

But now here she was, sitting on an airstrip in London, about to get off an airplane and meet her brother Ron and his wife in the airport. From there, they would go to the house she grew up in, where her mother would be waiting. She had no idea how anything was going to go, as she hadn't spoken to her parents in nearly eleven years.

She had kept contact with Ron, and his wife, Hermione. Hermione and Ginny had been good friends during their days at Hogwarts, and they were the only people she kept in contact with after she left. They were how she kept caught up with family events, even though every email she received caused so much grief; it was horrible that she was missing her brothers children and marriages.

But she was a Weasley after all. Immensely stubborn, and would not go running back to mum just because she missed home.

Ginny peered out the window of the airplane, remembering the night she had left London. She had been in a relationship with Jason Parte for several months now; a relationship that every one in her family despised and didn't hesitate to comment on. After a falling out, the two had split up, but Ginny chose to wait to tell her parents, not knowing if she could handle their reaction. However, a week later, she discovered she was pregnant. She was horrified yet delighted at the same time.

A few days after she found out, she was at her parents for a family dinner. All of her brothers were there, along with their significant others.

Halfway through desert, Charlie made mention of Jason not being there, and Ron grumbled an insult under his breath. Someone else, Ginny wasn't even sure who, agreed with Ron, and Ginny exploded.

'You know what?' she said angrily, standing up. 'I am sick of you all being so judgemental all of the time. If I choose to be in a relationship with someone, why can't you just be happy that I'm happy?' Nearly in tears, Ginny raised her voice slightly. 'And for your information, Jason and I are no longer together.' There was silence around the table as tears escaped Ginny's eyes.

'And I'm pregnant. With his child.'

She had stormed out of the house, and Hermione was the only person she had seen after that and before she left London.

Ginny was sure that all her family would hate her now, and she would have a hard time going back. However, Ron and Hermione both assured her over and over that if she didn't come home, everyone was going to be severely mad, and would torture Ron until he told them where she was living, and they would hunt her down and drag her home themselves. And that it was best for Alex if she came home and attended Hogwarts.

'Are you ready?' Ginny grasped her daughter's shoulder tightly as they exited the plane. The young girl just nodded, grinning widely.

-

'Ginny! Ginny over here!' Ginny had a cart full of suitcases, a bouncing Alex, and a very tall man in front of her. She couldn't see the source of the voice that was calling at her. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the man in front of her moved, and Ginny spotted Hermione, who was leaping up and down waving her arms like a mad-woman.

Ginny, grinning, hurried her cart over to where Hermione and Ron were standing. Ron stepped towards her, and letting go of her cart, which stopped immediately, she let Ron wrap his arms around her tightly.

'Oh Gin.' After a moment he leaned back, and looked into her face. He grinned, and Ginny fought the urge to burst into tears. He let go of his baby sister, and Hermione hurried to take his place hugging Ginny.

This time Ginny did burst into tears, and a few moments later retracted from Hermione to find that she too was crying. Laughing slightly, she wiped away her tears, and turned to where Alex and Ron were chattering away like they had known each other for years.

'Come on, let's get your luggage to the car.' Ron said after a minute. 'You've got a full house waiting for you.'

-

And indeed it was a full house. Ginny's six brothers and their wives and children were all crammed into the Weasley house, waiting for their little sister and auntie to come home after so many years.

As soon as Ginny and Alex passed the doorstep, Molly was on top of them. She was bawling as she clung to Ginny. Alex watched with wide eyes the fiery redheaded woman whose face was turning bright red.

'I'm so sorry mum,' Ginny whispered into her mother's ear. Molly Weasley just nodded, sniffling.

'It's alright now, dear. You're home, that's all that matters.' After a few minutes, she let go of Ginny, who stepped back and readjusted her shirt.

'Mum, I want to introduce you to Alexandria Molly Weasley, your granddaughter.'

This caused another torrent of tears, as Molly hugged her granddaughter tightly.

'I'm so glad you're here, dearest,' she said as she smiled through her tears at the beautiful girl in front of her. Arthur Weasley appeared behind his wife, and hugged both Ginny and Alex tightly. He claimed that Alex was a true beauty, and he led them both into the large living room of the Burrow.

The sight of all her brothers made Ginny grin, and she tried her hardest not to burst into tears again. It seemed that she would be doing a lot of that in the next little while.

'Now, now, children,' Molly regained her composure quickly, and faced the excited mass of people and waved her hands. 'Children, please sit down, so that your auntie can see who you all are before you're off and running.'

'It's been a long time,' Molly started at the left hand side of the room. 'Since you saw Marie. Bill and Fleur's daughter; she's fifteen.' Ginny grinned at a pretty blonde girl. The last time she had seen Marie the girl had been four, and probably didn't remember much of her aunt. Bill and Fleur both grinned at Ginny, and Ginny grinned tearfully.

'Then there's Fred and April's brood; Lorene, the same age as Alexandria. Clarissa is nine, and Michelle is fourteen. Then there's Ian who's twelve, Thomas, who's ten, Sarah who's nine, and Evan who's eight; all George and Evangeline's.' Molly gripped Ginny's hand tightly as she continued. 'And lastly we have Ron and Hermione's three boys; Kevin who is seven, Jordan who is five, and Andrew who is four.'

The Weasley family had grown up family oriented; with so many children it was hard not to grow up learning that family was important. And it seemed that many of Ginny's siblings had gotten married young and had children. Aside from Percy and Charlie, all of Ginny's brothers had children.

Ginny hugged each of her brothers, and Fleur. She was slightly surprised that her sister-in-laws that she hadn't met before welcomed her with open arms too, but she hugged them with vigour as well.

Oh, although she may not have admitted it out loud, she was so glad to be home. She needed her family.

-

'Come on, Alex, let's go!'

'Coming, mama.'

Ten seconds later, the energetic girl was standing at the bottom of the stairs. Ginny shut the door behind them, and watched as Ron hauled a large black trunk towards a black car. She ushered Alex inside the car, and there they found Hermione, Marie, Michelle, Ian, and Lorene.

Marie looked excited to go back to school, as she stared out the window with a grin. Her blonde hair was tied up neatly behind her head, and Ginny marvelled at how much she looked like her mother. She was entering her sixth year at Hogwarts. Beside Marie sat Michelle, who was Fred's daughter. She had the common red hair of the Weasley's, that was for sure. She was entering her fourth year of Hogwarts, and her younger sister Lorene was going into her first year like Alex. Alex sat beside her cousin Ian, who was going to be a second year student. He and Alex chattered excitedly, Alex begging him to tell her all about the ghosts.

Ginny smiled warmly at the brood, wondering what the school was like these days. She wondered how much had changed. Really the only thing she knew was that Minerva McGonagall was the Headmistress, and that she had been a kind and fair Headmistress after she had taken over Dumbledore's place.

Ginny was glad that Alex was so excited, although she still had the urge to turn and run. But this was the best for Alex, she told her self. Yes, it was.

-

Twenty minutes later Lorene and Alex sat in a car on the Hogwarts Express. Marie, Michelle, and Ian had all run off to find their friends, and Lorene and Alex clung to each other for moral support. They chattered about the school, because neither of them knew much about it. Lorene certainly knew more than Alex, but what she had heard had been all stories, and knowing her family, who knew what was real and what was fiction? The two Weasleys had their own theories about the school, the sorting Hat, and the teachers, and they shared these with each other.

'Excuse me?' a young boy appeared in the doorway of the compartment, and Alex smiled at him. 'May I join you?'

The two girls both nodded, and the black haired boy grinned. 'I'm Mitchell. Mitchell Peters.'

Alex stuck out her hand, and the two youngsters shook hands. 'I'm Alex Weasley, and this is my cousin Lorene.'

'Weasley?' Mitchell nodded slightly as he took a seat across from the two girls.

'Yes. Why?'

'Oh, I've heard about the Weasleys, that's all. Fred and George's joke shop? It's my favourite.'

'Fred's my father,' Lorene piped in, and Justin nodded again, looking intrigued.

'My father's a muggle. Me mum's a witch, though. I don't think my father knew, until I got my letter, that is. Shocked him, I dare say. Though my mom's quite proud. Her family's been going to Hogwarts for centuries.'

'So you didn't know about Hogwarts until you got your letter?' Alex asked, cocking her head curiously.

'Nope.'

'Me neither.' She didn't go into any details, and the dark haired, blue eyed boy across from them didn't pry.

'You've got a funny accent,' he said after a minute. 'Where ya from?'

'I'm from London, but me and my mum have lived in Canada all my life.'

'That's interesting.'

'I like it.'

Mitchell was about to ask her another question when a girl knocked on the compartment door.

'Lorene! Come join us, I've got Emily and Sasha in another compartment.' Lorene grinned, obviously knowing the bright eyed girl.

'I'll see you later, Alex,' Lorene rushed off with her friend, and Alex slid over to sit by the window. She grinned, and just as she was about to strike up another topic of conversation, there was a knock at the door again. She and Mitchell looked up to see a blonde girl neither of them recognized. She slid the door open a bit, and stuck her head in.

'Mind if we join? Everywhere else is full.' She tugged a boy out from around the corner, and the two youth in the cabin shook their heads.

'Oh, good.' The blonde girl smiled sweetly at each of them, and sat herself down beside Mitchell. A brown haired boy followed and sat down beside her. He looked awful shy, and Alex peered at him, curious.

'I'm Elizabeth Longbottom,' the girl introduced herself. She was a pretty little girl, with blonde wavy hair, and bright hazel eyes. She turned to the boy beside her, who was staring at his shoes. 'And this is Justin O'Dea. He's shy.' The boy looked up and glared at her, and then cast a weary smile to the others in the cabin. Alex and Mitchell introduced themselves, and Mitchell struck up a conversation about the year's textbooks with Justin, who seemed to crawl out of his shell slowly.

Alex and Elizabeth soon got talking about everything under the sun, which was going to be the start of a long friendship.

By the end of the train ride, and by the time they had reached Hogwarts, Alex had made three new best friends. Little did she know the four would remain best friends throughout their seven years at Hogwarts; friends till the end.


	2. Chapter One

Disclaimer: I do **not** own, or claim to own, any of JK Rowling's characters, nor her plot lines, catchphrases, or ideas. I own only my computer, my imagination, and my made up characters (Alex, Mitchell, Elizabeth, Justin, etc.). I do not own any of JK Rowling's spell names, or descriptions, either; however I have made up some, for lack of knowledge or time to look things up.

Chapter One 

'Oh, come on mum! You're driving like an old ninny!'

'It's not my fault,' the woman protested. 'It's this damn car. It won't go over sixty.'

'Well, make it. I'm going to miss the train. And you remember what happened to dearest Tim when _he _missed the train.'

'Of course, dear. They boxed his ears.'

The girl rolled her eyes, but grinned out the window. Alex Weasley, formally Alexandria Molly Weasley, and her mother Ginny always got along. They rarely fought about anything, and when they did fight, it was usually comical, or they made up quickly. Alex liked that about her mother; she was easy to get along with, and was more like her best friend than her mother.

Alex suspected this was mostly because they didn't spend a whole lot of time together; Alex was away at school most of the year, and only saw her mother at summer holidays, and occasionally Christmas break. This allowed the summers to be carefree and two months full of catching up and talking like they hadn't talked in nearly a year.

'Okay,' Ginny announced loudly as they pulled into a parking spot. 'We're here. Two minutes to go! We've gotta hurry!' Ginny, who's red hair was the same color it had been all her life, aside from dying out the grey bits, looked younger than her 40 years, and it amused Alex how much attention her mother got. She was wearing a grey business suit, as after she dropped Alex off she was off to work.

Alex shared much of the same features of her mother; she had her mother's curious hazel eyes and her intriguing smile. Her naturally mousy brown hair was dyed plum color, which suited her face surprisingly well. She was wearing a mismatched assortment of muggle clothes, all of which Ginny assumed Alex was wearing in order to shock and surprise her fellow students on the train.

She was wearing a pair of high leather boots with random buckles and straps, the books Alex called her 'Biker boots'. Never mind the fact that she had never even ridden on a motorbike. She wore a short jean skirt with a large black belt. She wore a bright tie-dyed tank top, and several necklaces around her neck.

Most of the time, Alex wore normal clothes; jeans and a t-shirt. But today was different. Today was the day she had to make an impression on her fellow students, younger and the ones she went to school with every year. And the parents. It was all good and fun to her.

For Alex attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Where if one dressed like a muggle, they didn't ever dream of dressing the way Alex was dressed. They wore simple plain clothing, and Alex was sure most of the parents would turn their children away from her.

Ginny hauled a giant black trunk from the suitcase of their car, and Alex pulled out a guitar case and a smaller backpack. She had always been musical; she had taken her first piano lessons at age six, and had continued them for nearly five years. After that, when she was thirteen, she had taught herself how to play guitar, and was now considered an accomplished player among her friends.

'Come on,' Ginny urged, and Alex chuckled.

'I'm coming, I'm coming.'

The two rushed towards the platform, tickets in hand. They seemed to be rushing past platform nine, and towards number ten. But instead of going towards the train on platform ten, they ran straight into a brick wall.

And emerged on the other side at Hogwarts Express Platform 9¾. The hustle bustle of the train station was a welcome sight to Alex. She loved Hogwarts dearly, and missed her friends. Ginny led Alex towards the train, and gave her truck to an attendant, with thanks.

'Alright dear, write me lots of letters. I shall see you at Christmas. You'd better get on the train, or they'll leave without you.'

Alex gave her mother a tight hug, and squeezed past a few young students to get on the train. With one last wave to her mother, and her uncle Ron, who had appeared at Ginny's side, she disappeared into the train.

A few younger students, looked like first years, eyed her cautiously, as if not sure whether she would bite or not. She smiled sweetly at them, and they scattered out of her way. She grinned. Too bad they hadn't arrived with time to kill; she loved wandering around the station scaring the parents.

She headed down the train, peering in the windows of the compartments. At last she found the one she was looking for, and slid the door open. 'Hii!' she cried, much louder than necessary. Two of the occupants of the compartment jumped at the sound of her voice, and the third just looked up with a grin.

'Alex!' a blonde girl cried, jumping out of her seat. The girls hugged enthusiastically, immediately starting to chatter about their summers.

'How was your summer? You didn't send me nearly enough letters!' The blonde girl shoved Alex into a chair across from her, and grinned.

Elizabeth Longbottom was one of Alex's best friends at Hogwarts, her true companion in mischief. Elizabeth, the daughter of Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood, had light blue eyes and wavy light blonde hair. Alex had always been jealous of Elizabeth's looks, but it never got between them.

Elizabeth had spent the summer in Russia with her parents, while her father was working on some project of his. She never really cared what her father's projects were, but she was glad that she got to travel. She saw all of the Russian sights, and spent a wonderful summer flirting with the young men of the tiny town they were staying in.

'Oh, it was boring as usual. I slept too much, spent a lot of time by the pool, read an entire library, and ate so much I nearly exploded. And how was _your_ summer? Mikhail? That his name?'

Elizabeth just grinned widely, casting a glace over at the other two occupants of the compartment, signalling to Alex that she would share all the juicy details later, when they were alone.

Alex turned to look at the two boys sitting by the window. One was grinning at her, and she winked back. Mitchell Peters was known throughout Hogwarts as an extremely good looking, yet somewhat egotistical and proud boy. True enough, he was very good looking. He was tall, and thin, but not lanky. His curly black hair was kept fairly short, and his blue eyes shone with mischief. He was proud, too. He could get any girl he wanted, and he knew it.

'Lookin' good, Lex,' he grinned, giving her an up and down look.

She grinned, and stood up, turning in a circle, pouting, pretending she was a model. She threw her hair around a bit, and laughing, sat back down with a plop.

'Don't you know it.'

The whole school also knew that while Alex and Mitchell constantly flirted and joked as if they were more than just friends, they weren't. Underneath of the playing and teasing, Alex seriously didn't approve of the way Mitchell dated around, and the girls he dated. She was, although appearing somewhat rebellious, quite a romantic, and didn't approve of girls who threw themselves at men. Girls who wore less clothing to get attention, the girls who lived their whole lives to be noticed and accepted.

'And how is my Justin?' Alex turned to the boy beside her, who had been watching her prance around, a small smile resting on his lips.

'Alright.'

He wasn't very talkative, and outside of the groups of friends, he hardly spoke to anyone. At first glance, he seemed very shy, but his friends knew he simply didn't want to talk to anyone else. He was a smart kid, always getting the top grades. He was a horrible public speaker, though, and wasn't very social. He stuck to his friends, and rarely participated in events without at least one of them.

He was loyal, and although appearing clingy, he just preferred his friend's company to anyone else. Alex knew that if he didn't like them in the least, he wouldn't be hanging out with them. He'd be off being gloomy in someone else's group.

Justin was shorter than Mitchell, and a little bit taller than Alex. And everyone was taller than Elizabeth. His shaggy brown hair was quite long, and his brown eyes were soft. He was a poet, a writer, the creative one. He was always writing something, and no matter how many times Alex had tried to pry his book of poems away from him, he had never let any one read much of his work.

'You know,' Mitchell stated as the train lurched into motion. 'This is going to be a good year. I can feel it.'

'Feel it? Uh oh,' Elizabeth joked. 'Are you taking after Professor Platon after all?'

Mitchell groaned, and shuddered. Professor Platon, the Divinations teacher, was a kooky lady who would sink her fingers into a student from her class every year, and tell the entire school that they were special, and that they would have a future in Divination. The previous year, Mitchell had been that student.

Platon had tried to get Mitchell to agree to private lessons numerous times, and was always picking him first for demonstrations.

'I wonder if she _ever_ realised I made everything up?'

'Probably not. That whole system's a bunch of bull.' Justin chuckled, and Mitchell glared at him.

'S'not funny.'

'Oh, indeed it is.'

Alex rolled her eyes at the boys, and turned to Elizabeth again.

'Soooo. Tell me. O.W.L.s? How did they go?'

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, but proceeded to list off the subjects she had taken the previous year, and her grades on the O.W.L.S. 'Astronomy, Satisfactory. Charms, satisfactory. DADA, exceeds expectations. Herbology, satisfactory. History of Magic, satisfactory. Potions, exceeds. Transfiguration, outstanding. Ancient Runes, satisfactory. Care of Magical Creatures, outstanding. And Arithmancy – Poor.' She grinned. 'Guess I won't be taking that dumb class next year.'

'I dare say you hardly tried on the exam.'

'Meh. Whatever, I wasn't the one who was convinced I was going to do excellent in it. Dad persuaded me to take it.'

'Well, you'll be proud. I failed Arithimancy as well.'

The two girls laughed. They had suffered through the horrible, in their minds, class the entire year, wishing they could get out of it early. But they couldn't drop it in the middle of the year, so they had toughed it out, barely paying attention. They conned one of the boys from Hufflepuff to let them copy the homework, so they rarely did anything, and when they got to the exam, neither recognized half the terms or equations they were supposed to know by heart.

'And? What else did you get?' Elizabeth wasn't really a very determined student; all she needed to do was pass her courses, and she was happy. She was much more concerned in the latest gossip, and her reading. She was a bookworm, but hardly enjoyed reading anything that was in the least bit factual.

Alex on the other hand enjoyed school for the most part, and excelled in most of her classes.

'Let me see… An S in Astronomy, an E in Charms. O in DADA, E in Herbology, S in History, E in Potions, an O in Transfiguration. An E in Acient Runes, and an O in Muggle Studies.' She grinned. 'I love Muggle Studies. It's so interesting to learn what wizards think about the world I lived in for most of my childhood.'

'That's not the only reason you like that class, though, eh?' She was obviously referring to the friendship Alex had struck up with Bobby, a Ravenclaw student in her class. 'But seriously, those are good marks. You got more Es than I did.'

'We got the same amount of Os, though. You're just better in different areas.'

Elizabeth shrugged. She did good in the classes she was truly interested in, like transfiguration. 'And what about you, Justin? How many Outstandings did you get? Nine, no doubt?'

'Hardly. Only five.'

The rest of the group laughed, but they knew he was entirely serious. Justin was in no way egotistical about his smarts; he just knew a lot.

'And?'

He proceeded to list off his marks; five Os, two Es, and two Ss (in Care of Magical Creatures, and Astronomy, neither of which he was terribly interested in).

'Which class are you dropping this year? Three options are too many, right? With our course load?'

'I'll probably drop Care of Magical Creatures. It won't do me much good in the future.'

'But I'll miss you! You can't leave me!' Elizabeth suddenly wailed.

'You'll have Mitch, won't you?'

'Nope.' Mitchell shook his head. 'Flunked right out of it.' He then listed off his marks. He was the least school oriented of the bunch, and although he only failed one class, he only received one O and one E, the rest being Ss.

'Silly, silly Mitchell,' Alex chanted. It had been a long standing disagreement between the two; Alex was convinced that Mitchell was a whole heck of a lot smarter than he appeared, and it was only a matter of trying.

'I do hope that Professor Juit returns this year. He was so handsome!' Elizabeth sighed, recalling their Transfiguration teacher from the previous year. 'Sandy said she heard he was.'

'Oh, I know, I heard that too!' The girls chattered about school – their teachers and courses – while the boys argued about Quidditch, until the snack lady came by with her trolley.

They all ordered enough junk to keep them happy for the next couple hours, and dug into the Bertie's Beans, chocolate frogs, and Alex's favourite, the whistling peppermints.

A while later, Alex leaned back in her seat, and groaned. 'Oh, I ate too much!'

She reached under her seat and shoved the remaining bag of chocolates and peppermints into her backpack. Then she grinned at Elizabeth, and pulled out her guitar. 'Wanna show the boys the song we've been practicing?'

Liz just nodded, and the boys looked at each other, looking worried.

'But-'

'Nuh uh,' Elizabeth protested. 'No buts.'

Alex began to strum at the guitar, playing a few random chords before leaping into song. About thirty seconds later, the two girls began to sing.

'Hold on tight, you know she's a little bit dangerous!' they crooned. Mitchell looked amused, but Justin burst into laughter.

'Ooh, just a little bit dangerous!' they continued.

Mitchell looked over at the near hysteric Justin, and looked confused. 'What's so funny?'

'This is a horrible song!' Mitchell just cocked an eyebrow, and Justin tried to stop laughing. 'It's a Roxette song. Horrible American band from the 1980s. True classic, yet horrible at the same time.'

'Dude, you're singing forty year old songs?'

Alex stopped the music, and a few seconds later Elizabeth stopped singing.

'What? You don't like our choice in music?'

'The '80s were horrible, horrible years. The '90s, too.' Justin nodded, and Alex pouted.

'Well, fine then. We'll sing something not from the 80s. This is from the 70s.' Alex grinned, and nodded at Elizabeth. She started to play, and Elizabeth clapped her hands.

'Ooooh, Freddy my love, I miss you more than words can say!'

The boys both looked confused, as if trying to figure out who had sung the song.

'Freddy my love, please keep in touch when you're away.' Elizabeth and Alex both crooned quite loudly, Elizabeth quite out of tune. 'Your spelling's kinda crummy, but honey, so is mine!'

'Spelling?'

'And I will be wearing your lacy lingerie. Thinking about it my heart's pounding already!'

Alex grinned at the blush that was creeping up Justin's neck, and Mitchell started to laugh.

They finished the song with a loud flourish, and began to clap for themselves. Mitchell and Justin both clapped along.

Grinning, Alex nodded at Mitchell. 'See? We're bound to be famous someday, we're so good.'

This brought up an argument between Elizabeth and Mitchell, and Alex listened half-heartedly, beginning to play a soft rock song that none of the other friends knew the tune of.

'Ooh, guys-' Elizabeth interrupted a while later. 'We're almost there. Better change into our robes.'

Minutes later, both Mitchell and Justin had slipped their robes over their heads, leaving their muggle clothing of pants and t-shirts on. Elizabeth had followed suit, only having a short skirt under her robes instead of a pair of pants.

Alex cleared her throat, and gestured for Mitchell and Justin to close their eyes. 'Turn around, or something. I'm actually changing here.' They complied, and she changed her brightly covered tank to a simple black long sleeved shirt, and then changed from her obnoxiously short skirt to a pair of black capri pants. She then took off her big boots, and slipped on a pair of comfortable Converse shoes. Finally she slipped her Hogwarts robes over her head, and announced that she was decent.

'Do you suppose anything dramatic will happen at the feast this year?' Elizabeth asked curiously, obviously referring to the antics at the Ravenclaw table the previous year. Amanda Tyson and her boyfriend Henry Lobe had a terrible row, and yelled and screamed at each other for a good five minutes before the main feast had even arrived at the tables. However, before desert they were back in each other's arms, snogging like the world was going to end the next morning before tea.

Alex snorted, and shrugged. 'I hope so. It's always more interesting that way.'

Alex used a quick spell to make her boots and folded clothes much smaller, and shoved them into her backpack, which was already mostly full. She then closed her guitar case, and sat up on the bench again, cross legged.

She was excited about going back for her sixth year. Her classes were going to be exciting, and she was looking forward to seeing the other students she hadn't seen since last semester. And as Elizabeth had suggested, especially Bobby, the cute Ravenclaw in her Muggle Studies class.

The Hogwarts Castle was now in sight, and Elizabeth wrapped her scarlet and gold scarf around her neck. All four friends were in Gryffindor, and had shared the house colors for the past six years.

Alex turned from the window to look at Justin, who was wearing an odd hat on his head. She peered closer, as if trying to figure out what it was.

'What in bloody hell is that?' she asked incredulously, screwing up her face. The thing looked like a pile of loose knitted cloth sitting on his head. It was bright green and blue, and covered his ears.

'Shut up.' Justin glared at her, and held his chin a bit higher.

After a few moments and Elizabeth and Alex tearfully laughing, Alex asked through her tears of mirth, 'No, honestly. What is it?'

'It's a hat. My grandmother knitted it for me. It keeps my ears warm.'

This caused gales of laughter, and a snort from Mitchell.

Justin just turned to glare out the window.

After a moment, Alex let out a hoot. 'Oh, okay. I'm sorry. Forgive me?' After a cruel look from Justin, Alex's face turned serious. 'Come on, you know you love me.'

'Don't even mention the hat.'

Alex nodded, trying hard to keep her face serious. After a moment, she lost it again, and burst into laughter. Justin looked exasperated, and after a few minutes, Alex finally settled down.

'Oooooh,' Alex groaned, and Elizabeth wiped tears from her eyes. 'Hey, Justin? Pass me that bag under your chair?'

He shook his head, still acting like he was angry.

'Oh come on. I'll sing for you, if you give it to me.' She pouted, and Justin finally gave in, and passed her the bag.

'Okay,' she continued. 'Get ready for a song, just for you.'

Justin started to protest, saying that he didn't want a song, but she was already starting to sing a slow and rather melancholic sounding song.

'Love me tender,' she crooned as the train rolled to a stop. 'Love me sweet, never let me go. You have made my life complete, and I love you so! Love me tender…'

The four friends all stood, and gathered their bags. Justin was pointedly ignoring Alex, and he pushed his way out of the compartment first, into a throng of their fellow students.

'Love me tender, love me long!' Alex crooned after him, once again bursting into laughter.

'Oh, he is a riot, that one,' Elizabeth chuckled into Alex's ear as they pushed themselves out of the train.


	3. Chapter Two

'Silence, please!' the woman at the front of the room wasn't speaking very loud, but the entire school shushed at her command.

'I would like to welcome you to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft of Wizardry. I wish all of you a memorable and exciting year, and I wish to remind you that Mr Filch has a list of items forbidden inside the school walls, and it is posted for your convenience. Professor Hartigan, you may bring in the first years now.'

The woman, a Professor Minerva McGonagall, was also the Headmistress of the school. She had taught Transfiguration before taking over the place as Headmistress, when Albus Dumbledore passed away. She was slightly severe looking, but every encounter Alex had with the woman had been pleasant.

A moment later, a young woman with light blonde hair stepped through the great doors of the Great Hall, leading a pack of bewildered looking children. Alex only recognized one, a confident looking red-head, and she waved to him. He smiled sweetly.

'Another one of your cousins?' Mitchell asked, one eyebrow cocked. Alex just nodded.

Hogwarts was filled with her cousins. Gryffindor to be more exact, because there wasn't a Weasley who wasn't in Gryffindor. Including her, there were ten Weasleys attending Hogwarts that current year. She had two cousins who had already finished school, and little Andrew wasn't due to start until next year.

The Weasley family was rather famous in the Wizarding world. Up until the Great War, they had been a total pure-blood family. Purely by coincidence, as far as Alex knew. They were known as Blood-traitors, of the highest standing, as well. They associated with known Muggles, and Arthur Weasley (Alex's grandfather) himself was fascinated with Muggle objects.

After the War, it became common knowledge that Ginny Weasley was involved with Harry Potter, the Chosen One who defeated Voldemort, but a half-blood nonetheless. Although the people believing in blood-traitors and the importance of blood-status dwindled after the War, there were still people who shunned those not of pure-blood. It was predicted these people would inbreed themselves into extinction.

Soon thereafter, both the twins married half-blood witches, and when Ginny (no longer together with Harry Potter) got together with a muggle born wizard, it was not a big deal. (Other than the fact that everyone in the family hated him. Had nothing to do with his blood).

There were not very many students left at Hogwarts that still believed that anyone less than pure-blood was worthless, but Alex could think of one in particular. A rather nasty girl who had almost no friends, due to her lack of tolerance. Alex frowned, and wiped the thoughts from her mind, turning back to the ceremony taking place in front of her.

The young students were lined up in a single file line in front of the long table that the teachers sat at. There was a stool standing in front of them, and on top of it sat a battered old hat. Alex had been terrified of the hat, thinking it might eat her whole head, and had seriously welcomed the help of Justin, who had read about the hat. He had assured her it was completely safe.

The students at the front of the room seemed to have the same sort of looks of scared anticipation, and as Professor McGonagall called up the first student, the Great Hall went silent. The young man made his way to the chair, and a few moments later, the Hat was yelling,

'Hufflepuff!'

Alex was only half-paying attention to the ceremony in front of her, however. She looked around the table she was seated at, contemplating the families of her friends. Elizabeth Longbottom, as far as Alex knew, was a pure-blood witch. Both her parents were pure-blood, although, like most wizards these days, saw nothing wrong with muggle born witches and wizards.

Alex wasn't really sure about Justin; he rarely ever talked about his parents. She had never even met them, and all she knew was that they lived somewhere in Britain, and spent most of their summers in Australia. She didn't even know what they did, other than being businesspeople. Alex wondered, not for the first time, why Justin chose to hide his parents from his friends, or if it was the other way around.

Mitchell, on the other hand, had muggle grand-parents on one side, and full fledged wizards on the other. His father was a muggle, and his mother a witch; his mother's family had been going to Hogwarts for centuries, according to him.

Alex tore her thoughts away again as the Hat cried out, 'Gryffindor!', and the entire Gryffindor table started to clap and cheer. She clapped along with her housemates.

A few minutes, and a few students later, Alex's cousin, Jordan, joined the Gryffindor table. And once all of the first year students were placed in their respective houses, the feast began. Professor McGonagall had a speech, which was short as usual, welcoming the students and placing emphasis on their studies. And then the food appeared. The first year students looked amazed, as most first year students were.

Most students had never seen that amount of food in such quantities before, and they dug in enthusiastically.

'Hey,' Elizabeth nudged Alex in the side, just as the girl was reaching for the mashed potatoes. 'Professor Juit is back!' Alex looked up to the front of the room, and followed her friend's gaze, and grinned.

The four friends looked over the table, recognizing all of the teachers. Most of the teachers had been at Hogwarts for years and years, with only two exceptions. There were four teachers who had taught when Alex's mother was in school, but after the War, most of the teachers didn't return.

At one end of the table sat Professor Juit, the transfiguration teacher most of the girls in the school adored. He was not a young man, but was probably about the age of the older girls' fathers. He still had a full head of black hair, and his gleaming smile attracted a lot of attention. Beside him sat Professor Hartigan, a young woman who had only been at Hogwarts for two years. She taught arithmancy, and had a strange passion for the subject. She was blonde, and was as Mitchell quoted, 'oddly good looking'. She wasn't the classic 'pretty', but she was admired for her creativity and way of making a boring subject more interesting. (to some, at least. Elizabeth and Alex still despised the subject).

Beside Professor Hartigan sat the tiny Professor Flitwick. Alex had no idea how long he had been at Hogwarts, but she was sure it was longer than her mother had been alive. He was ancient looking, and his beard fell lower than his knees. Alex really liked him, though. He was always good for a laugh. Beside him sat Professor Platon, a spacey woman who probably didn't have much contact with the outside world. She was rather odd, and like Mitchell said, he despised the crazy lady.

Next to the kooky Divinations professor sat Professor Sprout, another teacher who had been here before Alex's mother attended school. She was a level-headed woman, who taught her subject well. Beside her sat an empty chair. It was intended for Professor Binns, the History of Magic teacher, but Alex had never seen him sit there. She supposed it was there to remind him that he was welcome anytime he wanted. Professor Binns was the only ghost teacher they had, and was the most boring man she had ever encountered. Despite the subject having a bit of interest, his monotonous way of teaching put his entire class to sleep.

In the direct middle of the table sat Headmistress McGonagall, and beside her sat Professor Lock, the Astronomy teacher. He was a thin, rather scrawny man who spent his time with his head in the clouds. Beside him sat Professor Kustivo, a Russian Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher who was a bit too strict and stiff for most people's tastes. Professor Boven was next on the list, a permanently suntanned man who was wrinkled much too much for his age. He taught Ancient Runes, and was always going on about his time spent in Egypt with the runes.

Beside Boven sat a huge man, who was beaming to the students in the room. His long black beard was speckled with grey, giving his beard and hair a salt 'n' pepper sort of look. He was an amusing man, always making his students laugh (not necessarily at a joke, but also when he did or said something ridiculous). Hagrid, the groundskeeper at Hogwarts was also the Care of Magical Creatures teacher. His love of the subject was massive, along with his hands, and although his methods of teaching had significantly increased in popularity, he still sometimes forgot that his students didn't have the capabilities that he did.

Next came Professor Jaspar, a elderly witch who was so fascinated with muggle objects, that she taught Muggle Studies in order to pass her enthusiasm down to her students. She was sort of the campus grandmother, and welcomed distraught students into her classroom, where she would help calm and comfort them with her warm words. The last teacher in the line was a dark haired, big structured man who taught Potions. His name was Professor Furnier, and he absolutely despised Alex.

Alex had never really been sure of why he hated her so much. It had started her second year, and while he wasn't really kind to anyone, he was particularly harsh to Alex. It really baffled her, and as he glared in her direction, she just glared back. It had been humiliating at first, amusing as the time went on, and now it was plain baffling.

'I do wonder why he has it in for me,' Alex muttered to Elizabeth, who shrugged, like every time Alex posed this question.

'Yep,' Mitchell said, with his mouth slightly full. 'This is going to be a good year.'

The four friends raised their goblets, toasting that.

'You know,' Elizabeth muttered, looking around the Great Hall. 'There's usually something exciting happening by this point.'

As if on cue, a yelp sounded from the Ravenclaw table. All heads turned to see two girls standing facing each other.

No one from the Gryffindor table could clearly hear what they were saying over the whispers of the other tables, and Elizabeth stood up, trying to see what was happening.

She gasped, and sat back down, waving her arms wildly. 'Karen something-er-other just slugged Stephanie Cooper!' She then stood back up again, just in time for the entire Hall to hear,

'NEVER SPEAK TO ME AGAIN!'

Stephanie, the girl who had been slugged in the nose apparently had slapped the other girl back, and then screeched the message, and went storming out of the hall.

'Wow,' Mitchell said, covering what everyone was thinking.

'Well, Lizzy, there's your drama.'

Elizabeth just grinned as she sat back down to finish her meal.

-

Half an hour later, the four friends were exiting the Great Hall. Both Justin and Mitchell were groaning about how much they had eaten, and Elizabeth was helping Alex walk. Apparently Elizabeth had been the only one to not completely stuff herself to the point of not being able to move.

'Let's take the other way,' Mitchell suggested as they watched the throng of students moving along the hallway. They other three all nodded, and they turned to take a not so commonly used hallway. It was longer, and a bit out of the way, but much less crowded, and allowed them to laugh amongst themselves with hardly any interference.

'So, Mitch,' Liz began as they started the long walk rather slowly. 'You're on the team again this year?'

She was referring to the Quidditch team, which Mitchell had been a part of for the last two years. He played Keeper for the team, and loved Quidditch more than anything.

'Yep,' he replied. 'We've only got space for one new player this year, if there's no one better out there.' Although what he was saying might have confused someone who didn't already know what he was talking about, his friends all nodded. He was referring to the tryouts which would take place over the next week. If there were younger players who were better than the current players, it was possible for them to replace them. This rarely happened, however, and the reserve players were usually the only ones who were replaced.

'It's going to be a good year for Quidditch,' he predicted. 'The Ravenclaw team's got Fuller as Captain this year, and they're going to be tough to beat. Hufflepuff's probably not going to be as good this year; four of their players left school last year, so they're going be working on just simply working together as a team. Slytherin is always good, and this year shouldn't be any different.' Mitchell frowned.

It was commonly known that the Slytherin team weren't just good players, but that they didn't exactly follow the rules when playing. They were constantly receiving fouls, and sometimes even tried to bribe people into doing things to harm the other team.

'I hear Liam's the commentator again this year. That should be amusing, as always.'

'Speaking of amusing,' Justin chuckled. 'What's the prank for this year?'

This brought slightly evil chuckles from the rest of his friends, and after chuckling a bit, they all were quiet for a moment.

'No ideas?'

It was a long standing tradition (starting their second year) that they played a huge prank at the beginning of the year. And conveniently enough, they were never caught. The pranks were always big, but never harmed anyone, although often they put classrooms and teachers out of commission for a morning. Alex suspected that most of the teachers knew exactly who it was, but let it slide because it was all in good fun.

The previous year they had managed to enchant the robes of every single student in the school to bright colors. The Gryffindors had turned hot pink, the Ravenclaw's fluorescent blue, Hufflepuff's fluorescent yellow, and Slytherin's fluorescent green.

It had caused quite a stir, because with Justin's smarts, they had managed to rig it so all of the robes changed color at one time. Most of the students had been at breakfast, and the Great Hall had erupted in a mass of bright colors. Most of the students had been appalled at first, but as soon as the shock wore off, people laughed about it for weeks.

'I don't know,' Elizabeth shook her head. 'I don't know if we can top last years.'

The year before that they had managed to convince the house elves in the kitchen (although it took quite a bit of convincing) to not put out the entire feast for supper one night. Instead when everyone was expecting tons of good food, massive pots of porridge had arrived.

But of course the house elves had also prepared the whole meal, and it appeared probably twenty minutes later.

'How about… Replacing the bludgers with balls that will explode at impact?'

'Nah, Madam Hooch keeps pretty good track of that ball set, we'd never get to it.'

'How about…'

'Ooh! I know! We can take _all_ of the chairs and tables and desks from the classrooms, and have them levitate in the middle of the Quidditch field.'

'Hmmmh.' Everyone seemed to be pondering this idea.

'It could just work.' Justin said after a moment. 'Now, it would be too difficult for us to levitate them all with just our wands, but I'm sure we could rig something up.' He paused, thinking. 'If we could create a sort of invisible platform, we could levitate all of the furniture to it.'

The rest of the group all clapped and cheered, and they decided they would do it within the next couple days.

'Heh,' Elizabeth chuckled. 'Remember McGonagall's face when she saw the robes last year?'

This caused them all to start laughing, and in a minute Alex was laughing so hard she was having a hard time breathing. This was probably not because McGonagalls' reaction had been so funny, but because of the amount of sugar and coffee she had consumed throughout the day.

Alex was laughing so hard she could hardly walk straight. They went around a corner, their laughter echoing through the hall. Just as Alex rounded the corner, she collided right into someone. Yelping, she stepped back, nearly tripping over.

Looking up, she was about to apologize, but stopped when she realized who was standing in front of her. He was considerably taller than she, and stood above her, glaring down.

'Professor Furnier. Sorry.'

He just continued to glare. She frowned, and was about to step around him when he spoke up.

'What do you think you're doing in these hallways, Weasley?' he glared at Elizabeth, Mitchell, and Justin in turn, and then looked questioningly back at Alex.

She shrugged. 'We were taking the less crowded way back to the Common Room, professor.' She added his title as an afterthought. She really didn't need to be on his bad side the first night back.

'Going different ways than the other students could be considered suspicious by some people,' the tall man warned.

Alex just gave Elizabeth a weird look, who shrugged.

'I would advise you and your friends to stay out of any further trouble.' And with that, he stepped around her, continuing quickly down the hall.

The four friends just stood for a moment, as if trying to figure out what he had meant by that.

'What have I supposedly done? Remind me?'

Justin shook his head, and looked puzzled. 'There's hardly been time enough to do any damage yet. Maybe someone else did something, and he's blaming it on you.'

'Or maybe he just hates me.'

'Maybe,' Mitchell agreed as they continued down the hallway. 'And right now, that seems more likely.'

'But why?'

No one said anything, but Justin looked like he was trying to figure something out, which usually meant that he was going to rush off and research something that might give them answers.

Back in the common room, things were getting rowdy. Most of the younger students had gone to hide in their dormitories, and the majority of the students in the common room were third year students or older. There were a few games of Exploding Snap happening, and two boys were throwing a boomerang around the room. A few fifth year girls were practicing a Quidditch cheer they had made up, and someone was setting off firecrackers from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

There was a boy in the corner who kept turning into a large canary, while his friends howled in laughter. Alex and Mitchell grinned. They both felt right at home in this atmosphere. Justin would probably, like usual, go hide in a comfortable chair in the corner and read a book. Elizabeth would probably find something to amuse her, but she didn't really enjoy pointless pranks or loud exploding card games.

'Game of Stones?' Mitchell asked Alex, and when she nodded, he left to go find his board. Alex settled herself down at a small table with two chairs, and Justin left to go find his current book. Alex guessed that it must've weighed about fifty pounds, and was amazed he could even carry it. Elizabeth was chatting with one of her and Alex's dormitory mates, and Alex grinned as she scanned the room. She had always felt so at home here.

Mitchell returned a few minutes later, game in hand. She had played this game in the Muggle world, and loved it to bits. She had brought a set with her for her first year, and had taught her friends how to play. Mitchell was the only one who really enjoyed it, and so she had bought a set for him for his birthday in their second year.

The board was made of two wooden boards with sixteen bowl shaped pits. Each player takes a side of the board, with seven small bowls, and one larger bowl at the end. Each player has a certain amount of stones, which they have to then try and get into the large bowl at the end of the board. There were quite a bit of rules to the simple game, concerning how many stones you could move, where you could move them, and how to make your opponent's stones go back to the beginning.

It was a completely non-magical game, which seemed quite boring to most of the Gyrffindor house, and as far as Alex knew, Mitchell was really the only one who enjoyed to play it with her. She appreciated him playing it, and they always had a good opportunity to chat while they played.

'So,' Alex started. 'You have an exciting summer? Date much?'

Mitchell just nodded, and Alex nodded in return. He was always dating someone, it seemed.

'A muggle girl,' he said after a moment. 'Sweetheart.'

'And let me guess. She fell for you hard, and you broke her heart at the end of the summer?'

Mitchell just shrugged.

Alex shook her head. He really was so impossible. He dated two types of girls; the shallow, good looking, confident girls who wore too little clothing, and too much makeup. These girls provided him with a bit of fun. The relationship was usually purely physical, had no substantial meaning at all. These girls could move on when he left them. However, the other type of girl he dated was the typical 'virgin' stereotype. They were the wide eyed, innocent, romantic girls. They would fall for him hard, and get needy and sentimental, and in the end would end up so broken hearted.

Alex wondered how he justified his relationships, and then pushed the issue out of her mind.

'And? Right now?'

'Single.'

Alex snorted. 'For all of two whole days, I bet.'

'Well, actually. I did have my eyes on someone.'

'Oh?'

Mitchell just winked, making a move on the board that made Alex groan.

A few minutes later, Mitchell had won, and Alex pouted, and them hit his arm. 'No fair. I call a rematch.'

They played the game for at least an hour, and by that time most of the students had gone to bet. Justin was no where to be found, and Elizabeth was curled up asleep on the couch in front of the fire. Mitchell packed up the game, and Alex went to go wake Elizabeth and bring her upstairs. She ended up half dragging the girl up the stairs.

'Good night,' she called to Mitchell, who waved back.

'G'night.'


End file.
